Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil

Revised and Expanded Edition

Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha

This revised and expanded edition of The Brazilian Sound includes discussions of developments in samba and other key genres, the rise of female singer-songwriters in recent years, new works by established artists like Milton Nascimento and Marisa Monte, and the mixing of bossa with electronica. This clearly written and lavishly illustrated encyclopedic survey features new entries and photographs, an extensive glossary of Brazilian music terms, and more.

This edition of The Brazilian Sound contains new discussions of:
• música sertaneja and música caipira
• Brazilian funk, rap/hip-hop, and electronic dance music
• the rise of new samba and MPB artists
• an updated bibliography and glossary and a list of Web resources

“[T]his book has been revised and expanded again to be bigger and better than the previous highly praised incarnations. Ten years on, the music is still evolving, with many new artists and hybridizations, and McGowan and Pessanha are certainly keeping up with the changes. Their book features new coverage of funk, rap, and hip-hop and profiles new samba artists as well as artists on the rise in electronic dance music and other genres. Now that the Internet has made it easier to find and explore once-exotic musical genres, people looking for information about all the kinds of music in Brazil will love this book. Lavishly illustrated with 175 black-and-white photos, 12 maps, and 12 figures, it covers the remarkable breadth of Brazilian music in a highly readable, lively manner. Highly recommended for all public libraries and world music collections, even those owning an earlier edition."  Library Journal

"Well informed, written in plain language and smartly illustrated, The Brazilian Sound quickly became a reference book after it was published in 1991. With the recent publication of a revised and expanded edition, the good just got better…The Brazilian Sound is an informative primer, clearly designed to be useful to the curious beginner, but also substantive enough to capture and hold the attention of the initiated. This new edition retains the easy-to-read quality of the original while adding not only new artists throughout but also historical and social context to the music.... For anyone interested in exploring the vast world of Brazilian music, The Brazilian Sound will serve nicely as a smart and practical road map." Jazziz

"An excellent resource on some of the most popular music in Brazil.... Clearly written and offering information valuable for understanding Brazilian music in general.... Anyone interested in the evolution of Brazilian popular music and some of its most prolific artists of the past centuries will appreciate this title. Summing Up: Highly recommended."  Choice

About the Author(s)

Chris McGowan has written about Brazilian music for Billboard, Musician and many other publications, and contributed to The Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. He blogs for the Huffington Post about Brazil and other subjects.

Ricardo Pessanha has worked as a Brazilian music consultant for foreign journalists, music producers and filmmakers and as a music lecturer for academic programs. He has been a translator and publicity writer for recording companies in Brazil and contributed articles to The Beat and other publications.